Look around and open an account if you like. For now, it's set up so
that everyone who registers can create posts and comment... just like
the old days. If that works out, we'll keep it that way. One of
the attributes of the new platform is that it's much better at keeping
spammers out.

The new setup takes some getting used to, but surprisingly the response
thus far has been unexpectedly positive. Tom and Tim are posting as if
though nothing ever happened. All of the moderators and many of our
good friends somehow signed up before I even informed anyone of the
location. Perhaps they just feel sorry for me, but everyone's saying
they like it.

I HATED it at first, but after becoming familiar with it I can see that
this is going to be a FAR better platform for us in so many ways.

Re: the address change, not many were going to the old front-end static
pages anyway. From the beginning, all the action has been in the forum,
hence that will be the "main" site.

This will be my last update at this location, but I'll leave this page
up for notification purposes.

UPDATE: 05-13-12

From a discussion I've been having with a friend:

Another thing I'm running into is that AQ is getting so busy, that not even a dedicated server is enough to handle the load on the SQL database - which we would be using for any type of forum set-up.

We would need to take expensive measures (that are mostly out of my league) to not have continued future problems.

I'm starting to wonder if some type of blog format might be the solution. Get a bunch of "contributors" and do it that way. That would be FAR easier to manage technically and also much easier to keep disruptors/riff-raff away.

The problem with that is it wouldn't be a join-up forum environment.

UPDATE: 05-12-12

What’s going on with AQ?

Nearly everyone who’s contacted me appears to believe that AQ is not actually having technical difficulties, but is shut down due to actions or pressure from some 3rd party. Take your pick on the third party – a court, the SSPX, Rome… etc.

Let me state emphatically that although the timing is extremely prescient, the above is not the case. What’s happening to us now is what has been happening to us over the better part of a decade. We are using outdated and buggy SQL platform that is becoming difficult (more like impossible) to manage. Any of you who’ve been with us for a while have been through this before.

What’s going to happen to AQ?

Bad news:
This time it’s REALLY crashed. Bad enough that we’re not going to be able to continue in our current form. In fact, we wouldn't want to continue in our current form for the long term - even if we could somehow clean up the database. All we would be doing is kicking the bad software can down the road.

Good news:
Although initially I was leaning very much toward shutting down completely, I’m beginning looking at alternatives. Those of you who want to see a new version of AQ should pray that the masochist in me wins out here.

If we get a new AQ, what’s the deal?

If we do install a new AQ software it’s doubtful that we’ll take anything from the old AQ with us – except the people. No user accounts, posts or anything. All of that will be put into a (very large) file and saved for posterity. We’ll start with a totally clean slate.

The new software will still be a php bulletin board which at first it will be very VERY basic in look and functionality. No front page news ticker type setup, spell check, email alerts or a lot of the other bells and whistles that were developed over the years. That said, the new software is very scalable, so as time permits, the look and functionality will improve.

You’ll likely need to open a new account. On that note, being that we’ll have a more robust, more secure database and software platform, we can try opening up registration on a permanent basis.